# 2007 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 2007 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented Ohio State University during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Buckeyes were coached by Jim Tressel and played their home games in Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Tressel led the Buckeyes to their fourth Big Ten Conference championship and third BCS National Championship Game in six years. The team finished the season with overall record of 11–2, with losses to conference-rival Illinois and LSU in the 2008 BCS National Championship Game.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 12:00 p.m. | Youngstown State* | No. 10 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | BTN | W 38–6 | 105,038 |
| September 8 | 12:00 p.m. | Akron* | No. 11 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | BTN | W 20–2 | 104,317 |
| September 15 | 3:30 p.m. | at Washington* | No. 10 | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA | ESPN | W 33–14 | 74,927 |
| September 22 | 3:30 p.m. | Northwestern | No. 9 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | ABC/ESPN | W 58–7 | 105,178 |
| September 29 | 8:00 p.m. | at Minnesota | No. 8 | Hubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeMinneapolis, MN | ESPN2 | W 30–7 | 51,611 |
| October 6 | 8:00 p.m. | at No. 20 Purdue | No. 4 | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | ABC | W 23–7 | 65,497 |
| October 13 | 12:00 p.m. | Kent State* | No. 3 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | BTN | W 48–3 | 105,051 |
| October 20 | 3:30 p.m. | Michigan State | No. 1 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | ABC | W 24–17 | 105,287 |
| October 27 | 8:00 p.m. | at No. 25 Penn State | No. 1 | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA (rivalry) (College GameDay) | ABC | W 37–17 | 110,134 |
| November 3 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 19 Wisconsin | No. 1 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | BTN | W 38–17 | 105,449 |
| November 10 | 3:30 p.m. | Illinois | No. 1 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy) | ABC/ESPN | L 21–28 | 105,453 |
| November 17 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 23 Michigan | No. 7 | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI (The Game) (College GameDay) | ABC | W 14–3 | 111,941 |
| January 7, 2008 | 7:00 p.m. | vs. No. 2 LSU* | No. 1 | Louisiana SuperdomeNew Orleans, LA (BCS Championship) (College GameDay) | FOX | L 24–38 | 79,651 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Previous season

The 2006 Buckeyes squad finished the season as Big Ten Conference champions and ranked #2 in the final AP and Coaches' polls. They finished the regular season undefeated and advanced to the 2007 BCS National Championship Game where they lost to the Florida Gators, ending the season with a record of 12–1.

## Preseason

On March 6, Coach Jim Tressel announced the hiring of Assistant Coach Taver Johnson. Johnson is a native of Cincinnati and a graduate of Wittenberg University. He had spent most of his coaching career at Miami University and had a very brief stint with the Oakland Raiders. Coach Johnson will replace Tim Beckman, who left Ohio State to become Defensive Coordinator at Oklahoma State University. Coach Johnson will coach the Cornerbacks.

### Watch lists

Linebackers James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman along with defensive end Vernon Gholston were among the list of 65 players under consideration for the Bednarik Award while Chris "Beanie" Wells was on the 65-player list for the Maxwell Award.

## Coaching staff

* Jim Tressel – Head coach (7th year)
* Jim Bollman – Offensive line/OC (7th year)
* Joe Daniels – Quarterbacks (7th year)
* Luke Fickell – Co-defensive coordinator / linebackers coach (6th year)
* Jim Heacock – Defensive coordinator / defensive line (12th year)
* Paul Haynes – Defensive safeties (3rd year)
* Darrell Hazell – Assistant head coach / wide receivers (4th year)
* Taver Johnson – Defensive cornerbacks (1st year)
* John Peterson – Tight ends coach / recruiting coordinator (4th year)
* Dick Tressel – Running backs (7th year)
* Bob Tucker – Director of football operations (13th year)
* Stan Jefferson – Director of player development (4th year)
* Eric Lichter – Director of football performance (2nd year)
* Butch Reynolds – Speed coordinator (3rd year)
* Jeff Uhlenhake – Strength coordinator (1st year)

## Results
### Youngstown State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Youngstown State | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| • No. 20 Ohio State | 7 | 14 | 3 | 14 | 38 |

### Akron

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Akron | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| • No. 11 Ohio State | 0 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 20 |

### Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 10 Ohio State | 0 | 3 | 14 | 16 | 33 |
| Washington | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |

### Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Northwestern | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| • No. 9 Ohio State | 28 | 17 | 13 | 0 | 58 |

### Minnesota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 8 Ohio State | 14 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 30 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### Purdue

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio St | 14 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 23 |
| Purdue | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
at Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana
* Date: October 6
* Game time: 8:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Clear • 84 °F (29 °C) • Wind S/SW 3 miles per hour (4.8 km/h; 2.6 kn)
* Game attendance: 65,497
* Referee: Steve Pamon
* TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, and Lisa Salters
* Ohio State Football Archives
Game information :
Ohio St
Todd Boeckman 17/29, 200 Yds, 2 TD, 3 INT
Chris Wells 18 Rush, 85 Yds
Ray Small 6 Rec, 70 Yds, TD
Purdue
Curtis Painter 31/60, 268 Yds, TD
Kory Sheets 7 Rush, 20 Yds
Dustin Keller 7 Rec, 101 Yds :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | OSU | PUR |
| 1 | 8:04 | 9 | 87 | 3:23 | Ohio St | Ray Small 26-yard touchdown reception from Todd Boeckman, Ryan Pretorius kick good | 7 | 0 |
| 1 | 4:48 | 5 | 43 | 2:18 | Ohio St | Brian Hartline 6-yard touchdown reception from Todd Boeckman, Ryan Pretorius kick good | 14 | 0 |
| 2 | 10:21 | 8 | 34 | 4:25 | Ohio St | 44-yard field goal by Ryan Pretorius | 17 | 0 |
| 3 | 7:43 | 4 | 7 | 0:53 | Ohio St | 39-yard field goal by Ryan Pretorius | 20 | 0 |
| 4 | 14:56 | 6 | 56 | 2:47 | Ohio St | 23-yard field goal by Ryan Pretorius | 23 | 0 |
| 4 | 0:10 | 13 | 88 | 2:46 | Purdue | Jeff Lindsay 1-yard touchdown reception from Curtis Painter, Chris Summers kick good | 23 | 7 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 23 | 7 |

### Kent State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Kent State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| • No. 3 Ohio State | 7 | 28 | 10 | 3 | 48 |

### Michigan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan State | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 17 |
| • No. 1 Ohio State | 10 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 24 |

### Penn State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 1 Ohio State | 10 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 37 |
| No. 25 Penn State | 7 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 17 |

### Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 19 Wisconsin | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 17 |
| • No. 1 Ohio State | 7 | 3 | 7 | 21 | 38 |
Ohio State sets record with 20th straight Big Ten win.

### Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Illinois | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
| No. 1 Ohio State | 14 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 21 |

### Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 7 Ohio State | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| No. 23 Michigan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |

### National Championship Game

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 2 LSU | 3 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 38 |
| No. 1 Ohio State | 10 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
On January 7, 2008 the Buckeyes played at the BCS National Championship game in New Orleans, Louisiana in the Louisiana Superdome. This was the first time in the school's history that the football team had played back to back National Championship games. The Buckeyes ended up losing the game to the Louisiana State University Tigers, 38–24. After a strong initial start (a 10–0 run in the first quarter in favor of the Buckeyes), the LSU Tigers went on one of their own, 31–0, from the first to third quarters. Two key pivotal special teams plays contributed to the LSU run, one being a blocked 38 yard Ryan Pretorius (Ohio State) field goal in the first quarter, and a roughing the kicker penalty committed by Austin Spitler (Ohio State) on a punt that extended an LSU touchdown drive in the third. Both teams scored 14 points in the second half which lead to a Tigers' victory due to the 2nd quarter LSU scoring deficit.

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | 11 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 (50) | 1 (57) | 1 (59) | 1 (60) | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 (50) | 5 |
| Coaches | 10 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 4 (1) | 3 (2) | 1 (56) | 1 (58) | 1 (56) | 1 (55) | 7 | 5 | 3 (6) | 1 (46) | 4 |
| Harris | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 (110) | 1 (111) | 1 (114) | 1 (112) | 7 | 5 | 3 (11) | 1 (98) | Not released |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | Not released |

## 2008 NFL draftees

| Player | Round | Pick | Position | NFL club |
| Vernon Gholston | 1 | 6 | Defensive end | New York Jets |
| Larry Grant | 7 | 214 | Linebacker | San Francisco 49ers |
| Kirk Barton | 7 | 247 | Tackle | Chicago Bears |
Source: